CLEOPATRA'S BOUDOIR

Perfume nips are small plastene or glass vials which hold tiny samples of perfume. The most famous of perfume nip companies was the Nipola Products Company and Nips,Inc. The ends of the vials could be broken off and the perfume would then be applied to the skin or handkerchief.

NIPOLA PRODUCTS CO

The Nipola Products Co.  was established in 1925 by Arthur T. Sinykin in St. Paul, Minnesota. I have read that the Nipola Company was a front for a bootlegging operation., whether this is true or not, the Nipola Company was very famous.

Nipola repackaged famous imported perfumes of the day in addition to creating their own signature fragrances such as Pagan Princess,  Swee-Tone,  and Ramona. Their most famous perfume was in honour of the great Charles Lindbergh. Named Lucky Lindy, the Essence of Luck, this name was registered with the US Patent Office in 1927.

NIPS,INC

Perfume nips were often packaged together and sold in small cardboard cylinders and later, in lucite boxes. The individual nips were available for 10 cents each. Perfume nips were also manufactured by Nips, Inc, of New York, who first sold their Nips in 1921.

Perfume Nips of Coty's L'origan Paris" c1920s

1950s Perfume Nip Cases.

Nips, Inc distributed their tiny ampules filled with rebottled French perfume extracts, first in glass then later in plastene.  They coded their ampules with colored labels or have the ends of each nip painted a color that corresponded to the booklet to tell you what you had. For instance, I have a small booklet that lists the following:

• "Bellodgia by Caron...light green label
• Cancan by Caron...dk lavender & white label
• Chanel Gardenia...yellow & white label
• Chanel No. 5...purple and white label
• Emeraude by Coty..yellow label
• Evening in Paris by Bourjois..orange label
• Fleurs de Rocaille by Caron..light green & white label
• L'Aimant by Coty..light brown and white label
• L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain..navy blue and white label
• L'Origan by Coty..royal blue label
• My Sin by Lanvin..light blu elabel
• Nuit de Noel by Caron...dark green and whit elabel
• Orchidee Bleue by Corday...orchid label
• Paris by Coty....medium green label
• Quelques Fleurs by Houbigant...medium blue label
• Shalimar by Guerlain...dark brown label
• Springtime in Paris by Bourjois...orange and white label
• Toujors Moi by Corday...coral label"

Nips, Inc used beautiful expressions to describe the perfumes that they were selling in this little ampules. A booklet accompanied the ampules and also gave advice on where to apply perfume and how to use perfume. The examples below were found in an early 1930s Nips booklet.

1. Bellodgia: The sublime fragrance of the carnation flower.
2. Cancan: A mysteriously enticing perfume.
3. Chanel Gardenia: Reproduced flower-fresh..provocative of romance as moonlight and distant music.
4. Chanel No. 5: One of the smartest of the famous Chanel perfumes..sophisticated yet feminine and appealing.
5. Emeraude: Emerald richness and brilliance expressed in fragrance.
6. Evening in Paris: The Perfume of Romance, expressing the glamour and mystery of Paris at night.
7. Fleurs de Rocaille: Rock Garden, a supreme fragrance of fresh spring flowers
8. L’Aimant: The Magnet, for great moments..modern interpretation of the Ancients “love philtre”. 
9. L’Heure Bleue: Blue Hour, quiet and magical twilight hour..a perfume worthy of the most formal occasion.
10. L’Origan: Elegant, worldly and sophisticated..with its enticing, provocative charm.
11. My Sin: For informal wear…and perfect for those who prefer to remain softy feminine in the evenings.
12. Nuit de Noel: Xmas Nite, world famous perfume, vivid, enthralling and brilliant.
13. Orchidee Bleue: Blue Orchid, a gaily wicked fragrance, flirtatious but coy.
14. Paris:Fascinating “double note”, its flower fresh charm develops as you wear it.
15. Quelques Fleurs: Universally loved bouquet of Elysian flowers equal to any occasion. 
16. Shalimar: A rich blend of exotic scents combining the lure, charm and mystery of the East. 
17. Springtime in Paris: Light, sparkling fragrance of fresh spring flowers..smart with daytime costumes.
18. Toujours Moi: Always Me, a perfume that whispers with lasting fragrance.

Advice on where to put perfumes, and perfume in general, plus the insistence that rench perfumes are the best to be worn...

• Women of discrimination use genuine French perfumes.
• Among your best friends are your soothing invigorating quality perfumes.
• Apply perfume to your person…never to clothing.
• A dash on brush or comb imparts a delicate fragrance.
• Change of mood, activity or climate..change of perfume
• A perfumed fluff of cotton pinned on lingerie gently diffuses the selected odour.
• On the tips of ears and on the neck..delightful.
• Perfumed hair..put a few drops in the last rinse
• On the fingertips and wrists…memory of your handclap will linger.
• A bit on the lips..helps keep the lipstick smooth and set.
• Bring your artificial flowers to life with quality perfumes.
• On furs..oriental type perfumes are more flattering than floral odors.
• The perfume you love best is the one that expresses yourself.
• On your eyebrows.
• In your stationary and handkerchief boxes.
• Quality perfumes are like rare gems.
• Like fine old wines, your quality perfumes comfort of stimulate as you may desire
• Good taste attracts and holds the worlds good-will.
• You are judged by your perfumes
• Genuine French perfumes are lasting perfumes

Many nips would be found in perfume vending machines during the 1920s-1970s and while available at 25 cents each, others cost up to $5.00. Advertisers of the era used these tiny samples to promote their busineses too as giveaways. 

PERFUME TYPERS

Perfume typers were groups of 40-60+ perfumes packaged in the little hard plastic cases, which when emptied were advertised as cigarette cases. These personal perfume typers contained a guide that helped you pick out the right type of perfume for you. These typers would be given out or sold thru magazines like McCall's or HOME.

Perfume Typer c1950s-1960s

The 32 page booklet included is titled "Your PERFUME GUIDE", and has great information on "The Power of Perfume", "How To Use Perfume", and "How To Type Youself For Perfume". There is also an "Index of Perfume Manufacturers" and an "Index of Perfumes". 

The typer states that all perfumes can be divided into 7 types -there are seven containers, one for each type and each container has 5 "nips" of the most popular scent of that type. 

The procedure, according to this booklet, is to try the seven different types, and one or two of the types in particular will "become" you. The seven types are : Fruity Blend, Spicy Bouquet, Oriental Blend, Single Floral, Floral Bouquet, Forest Blend, and Modern Blend.

Seven Basic Types were each included with a Perfume Typer.

1. Single Florals: These perfumes have a predominant note of the fragrance of one flower, such as rose, violet, lily of the valley, gardenia.
2. Floral Bouquets: As the name suggests, these are a blend of floral scents and may range from delicate, light to rich, heady fragrances.
3. Oriental Blends: These are the exotic perfumes with warm undertones of musk, amber and civet. They vary between predominant floral scents and rich resinous overtones.
4. Modern Blends: Since the basic characteristic of these perfumes is not to be found in nature but was discovered in a test tube, there is no fragrance quite like them. They are clear, cool, sophisticated/
5. Forest Blends: Also called woody or mossy, these fragrances are often characterized by notes of sandalwood, rosewood or cedar, or by grassy or ferny notes.
6. Spicy Bouquets: These perfumes are characterized by the pungent overtones of ginger, cloves, cinnamon and other spices. They may also have spicy floral notes, such as carnation or geranium.
7. Fruity Blends: The distinctive fragrance of these perfumes may be a fresh, airy citrus note or a warm peach like scent.

The booklet says that the nips in these type capsules are the most popular brand of that type, but that they are unlabled so that you won't be inluenced by "price" or "the experience of others".

Then, there are 30 NIPS Bottlettes in the "Bonus Box" that are printed with their "well-known names". Now that you have determined which type of perfume "favors" you, you can look in the perfume index and see which perfumes and their names, are your type. The bonus box has a variety of types so you can test the name brands. 

The kit includes 65 nips total- they are slender Plastene tubes that you break the ends off of to release the scent. T is an extra sheet "How To Use Nips".  The 30 bonus nips are in their own plastic snap lidded box. That box goes inside another plastic snap-lidded box that also contains the seven capsules of nips and the booklet. That box is inside a cardboard 2 part "gift" type box with a piece of tissue and the nip instruction sheet. The only information about the maker of this kit is on page one which reads "Your PERFUME GUIDE For additional copies sedn 25 cents to Perfume Typer, Box 630, Mount Vernon, N.Y. Printed in U.S.A."

Here is a list I have compiled of perfumes that were included in the Nips and perfume typers:

1. Amber by Charbert
2. Aphrodisia -Faberge
3. Arpege by Lanvin
4. Ballerina - Marie Earle
5. Beau Belle - Bourjois
6. Beau Catcher -Suzanne
7. Bellodgia - Caron
8. Black Satin - Angelique
9. Blue Carnation - Roger et Gallet
10. Blue Grass - Elizabeth Arden
11. Breathless - Charbert
12. Bright Secret -Tussy
13. Cabochard - de Gres
14. CanCan -Caron
15. Carnation - Mary Chess
16. Chanel No 5 - Chanel
17. Chypre - Coty
18. Climax- Blanchard
19. Cocktail Dry - Patou
20. Coeur Joie - Ricci
21. Colony - Patou
22. Command Performance - Helena Rubinstein
23. Confetti - Lentheric
24. Confidante - de Monel
25. Conflict - Blanchard
26. Connosieur - Lanier
27. Consent- Charbert
28. Contraband - Tussy
29. Cotilion- Avon
30. Crepe de Chine - Millot
31. Crown Jewel - Matachabelli
32. Cub - Le Galion
33. Danger - Ciro
34. Dans la Nuit - Worth
35. Dark Brilliance - Lentheric
36. Debutante - Daggett & Ramsdell
37. Demi- Jour - Houbigant
38. Desert Flower - Shulton
39. Devastating - Anjou
40. Diorama - Dior
41. Directoire - Charles of the Ritz
42. Discovery - Moneau
43. Divine - D’Orsay
44. Djer Kiss - Kerkoff
45. Dogwood - Roger et Gallet
46. Dona Sol - Renoir
47. Doux Jasmin -Ciro
48. Duchess of York - Matchabelli
49. Early American Old Spice- Shulton
50. Eau de Fleurs - de Léonid Lescinskis Eccusson - d’Albret
51. Electrique - Max Factor
52. Elizabethan - Mary Chess
53. Emeraude - Coty
54. Emir - Dana
55. En Avion - Caron
56. Enchanting Menace - Evyan
57. Encore - Beauty Counselor
58. Endearing - Bourjois
59. Envoy - Lanier
60. Epice - Patricia
61. Escapade- Shulton
62. Esperanto - Lanier
63. Etoile Filante - Henri Bendel
64. Evening Capers - Donat
65. Evening in Paris - Bourjois
66. Evening Star - Blanchard
67. Fabulous - Charbert
68. Fantastique - D’Orsay
69. Farnesiana - Caron
70. Femme - Rochas
71. Femme du Jour-
72. Figurine - Dorothy Gray
73. Fille d’Eve by Ricci
74. Five O’clock - Rubinstein
75. Flair - Yardley
76. Fleurs d’Amour - Roger et Gallet
77. Fleur de Feu - Guerlain
78. Fleurs de Rocaille - Caron
79. Fleur Sauvage - Germaine Monteil
80. Folie de Minuit - Lanier
81. Gardenia - Chanel
82. Gardenia - Mary Chess
83. Gardenia- Patricia Murphy
84. Golden Chance - Harriet Hubbard Ayer
85. Golden Shadows - Evyan
86. Gold Promise by Avon
87. Gold Satin by Angelique
88. Green Orchid - Patricia Murphy
89. High Heels by Tilford
90. Indiscret - Lucien Lelong
91. Intoxication by D'Orsay
92. Jealousy - Blanchard
93. L’Aimant - Coty
94. La Rosa - Patricia Murphy
95. L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain
96. Le Parfum Ideal - Houbigant
97. L’Origan - Coty
98. Magie Noire - Lancome
99. Midnight -Tussy
100. Midnight Mist - Tussy
101. Miracle - Lentheric
102. My Sin - Lanvin
103. Narcisse Noir - Caron
104. No. 3 - Tilford
105. Nuit de Noel - Caron
106. Orcidee Bleue - Corday
107. Orchis de Nuit - Garlands
108. Palomar - Lanier
109. Paris - Coty
110. Private Affair - Lenel
111. Quelques Fleurs - Houbigant
112. Regina Rose - Patricia Murphy
113. Repartee - Lentheric
114. Roman Holiday - Bourjois
115. Secrets of Suzanne - Suzanne
116. Shalimar - Guerlain
117. Shanghai - Lentheric
118. Sharelle - House of Hampton
119. Shining Hour by Jacqueline Cochran
120. Shocking by Schiaparelli
121. Silent Night by Countess Maritza
122. Silhouette - Lanier
123. Sonata -Countess Maritza
124. Sortilege - Le Galion
125. Strategy - Mary Chess
126. Tapestry - Mary Chess
127. Tweed - Lentheric
128. Virtuoso- Lanier
129. White Lilac - Mary Chess
130. White Magnolia -
131. White Mist - Countess Maritza
132. White Shoulders - Evyan
133. Yram - Mary Chess